The Great Divide between a Gospel Focused on All Nations and a Gospel Focused on Israel

An excerpt from O. Palmer Robertson, Christ of the Consummation. A New Testament Biblical Theology. Volume 2: The Testimony of Acts and Paul. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P&R Publishing, 2025, pp. 223-230.

Paul’s Gospel: for the Nations

In his second journey to Jerusalem, Paul set before the prominent leaders of the church in Jerusalem “the gospel which I preach to the nations,” a fascinating phrase in itself (Gal. 2:1–2). Is this gospel “to the nations” different from the gospel to Israelites? No, there is no difference. Instead, the gospel that the apostle preached to the nations enlightens the gospel that must be preached to Israel.

But most dramatically, Paul’s gospel is the gospel to the nations! All through previous ages, the gospel had been directed quite specifically toward Israel. Indeed, much material in Israel’s Prophets anticipated the preaching of the gospel to all the nations of the world.[i] Yet it was always through Israel that the gospel would be filtered to the nations. But now the gospel is more specifically and more directly pointed to all the various nations of the world. This affirmation of Paul represents a dramatic change in the history of redemption.

This same perspective takes center stage when Paul speaks of his calling into the gospel ministry. The purpose of God’s revealing his Son to Paul was “in order that I might preach him among the nations” (Gal. 1:16a). From the very beginning of Paul’s life in Christ, the apostle’s calling involved a unique purpose. He was to be the Apostle to the Nations. The core of his proclamation to the nations is defined simply as to “preach him” (v. 16a). This calling was for Paul indeed the Great Divide that set him apart from other proclaimers of the new covenant. No other apostle would be given this designation or this specific task. While God set aside twelve apostles primarily for taking the gospel to the Israelites, Paul alone would have this unique commission, which for all his life would set him apart as unique among the history of humanity.

Paul’s second “going up to Jerusalem,” he insists, was on the basis of revelation (Gal. 2:2). You might think it would not be necessary for the apostle to have a special revelation from God to decide to go up to Jerusalem. That would seem to be a natural thing for him to do. But this going up to Jerusalem, particularly to meet with those who were recognized as leaders of the newly forming Christian community, represented a significant turning point in the proclamation as well as the definition of the gospel. Paul made his presentation in Jerusalem to establish once and for all that in his distinctive ministry among the nations, he was not running or had not run in vain (v. 2b). This statement does not mean that he expected his gospel to be redefined by the prominent church leaders in Jerusalem. Instead, he was anticipating their stamp of approval on his ministry, confirming its legitimacy as the true gospel. The fact that he made this excursion to Jerusalem by divine revelation indicates that God himself intended to have Paul’s gospel officially confirmed.

As Paul will clearly indicate, his gospel in its essence was the same as that which had been proclaimed of old, dating back to the time of Abraham. But its expansion to directly embrace all the nations alongside Israel without their going through Israel represented a dramatic redirection of the gospel. Here in the outworking of redemptive history is the gospel according to the new covenant as formally fixed through revelation by Paul. To underscore this universalistic aspect of his gospel, Paul rehearses events that eventually led him to go up to Jerusalem “by revelation” (Gal. 2:2).

In his letter to the Romans, Paul will speak quite specifically of “my gospel” by which God will judge the secrets of all humanity on the “Day” (Rom. 2:16). How audacious! None of the other apostles presumes to speak about “my” gospel. But Paul does.[ii] As he concludes his magisterial letter to the then capital of the world, he refers to God, who will establish his readers by “my gospel.” This gospel has come through the revelation of “the mystery” (16:25). But what is this “mystery” that has been revealed in Paul’s gospel? He specifically includes in the “mystery” “the obedience of faith” that has been made known “to all the nations” (v. 26). He has also spoken of the “churches of the nations” (v. 4), a very distinctive concept.

This focus on the nations is critical to the definition of the gospel Paul preached. Rather than being a gospel with special directives regarding Israel, it is the nations that serve as the focus of his gospel.

The unique rendering of the Greek term ethnoi (“nations”) in English Bible translations as “Gentiles” rather than “nations” has disoriented a significant number of the Christian community so that it has not fully appreciated a major focus of Paul’s gospel.[iii] When he speaks of “my gospel,” Paul refers particularly to his distinctive perspective on the good news as being directed equally to all the nations of the world as well as to Israel. Later in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul will elaborate extensively on this point (cf. Eph. 2:11–3:9).

Paul’s Great Divide

Once more, Paul is establishing the Great Divide between the gospel as it had been proclaimed up to this point in redemptive history and the gospel as it would be proclaimed from this day forward. The apostle Peter’s vision involving his eating “unclean animals” that led to the inclusion of the household of the Roman soldier Cornelius coordinated perfectly with Paul’s gospel (Acts 10:1–48; 15:7–11). Yet it did not go all the way in its inclusion of the nations of the world, as Paul’s specific ministry would do. Peter will allow that the nations should be included among God’s people. That fact he could hardly deny—even though at Antioch he subsequently dramatized that very denial by separating himself from non-Israelite believers (Gal. 2:11–14).

In his later journey to Jerusalem by revelation, Paul’s distinctive gospel with its focus on the nations was not modified or rejected by any of those individuals recognized as leaders in Jerusalem. Not even Titus the Greek, his traveling companion, was required to be circumcised (Gal. 2:3). Because these leaders in Jerusalem accepted Titus as a legitimate minister of the gospel alongside Paul, a new phase in the dissemination of the gospel had come to the fore. The acceptance of uncircumcised Titus as Paul’s companion in ministry represented a critical step. Whatever the distinctiveness of Paul’s ministry, it would now be carried forward in the generations to come without any need for credentials such as circumcision that would indicate appropriate participation in the religion of Israel.[iv] Yet this radical transition from a gospel focused on the nations rather than a gospel focused on Israel would not occur without struggle, as subsequent events would indicate.

Paul in this letter to the Galatians continues to chisel away at any element that tended to conceal the true shape of the gospel. The Great Divide emerges between Paul and the pseudo-brothers who came in surreptitiously to spy out and undermine “our freedom” that we have in Christ Jesus (Gal. 2:4). “To whom,” says Paul, “not for one hour did we yield in obedience, so the truth of the gospel might remain intact for you” (v. 5). If Paul and his companions had given some credence to these pseudo-brothers with their demand that the traditions of Israel be laid on converts to faith in Christ coming from other nations, it would have impacted the whole church of Jesus Christ as well as the prevailing definition of the gospel. If they had yielded to this demand, the gospel would not have been preserved for Galatia in its purest form.

An Unanticipated Unity among all God’s People

Having established his unwavering commitment to this “gospel for the nations,” Paul stresses the unity that came as a consequence of the Great Divide between a gospel focused on all nations and a gospel focused on Israel. If he had yielded in any way to the position of the false brothers, an ultimate unity could never have been realized. But as a consequence of his unswerving commitment, those of prominence among the leaders of the church concluded that Paul had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcision, even as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel for the circumcision (Gal. 2:7). Paul does not hesitate to recognize the prominence of Peter. Through his ministry to Cornelius the Roman citizen, Peter served as a vital instrument for extending the gospel to people from all nations. Yet his particular calling was not to the nations but to the Israelites.

An unanticipated unity arises from Paul’s determination to stand without compromise. His gospel for the nations, in contrast with lesser understandings of the gospel, made unity among all of God’s people possible.

For the One energizing within Peter’s apostleship for the circumcision worked and energized also in me [emoi] for the nations. (Gal. 2:8)

The sovereign Lord energizing Peter was the same Lord simultaneously energizing Paul. It was undeniable. Paul’s zeal, his gifts, the forcefulness of his presentation of the gospel to the nations, was enough to convince James, Cephas, and John of the validity of his ministry to all nations (Gal. 2:9). These three prominent leaders were regarded as pillars of the church. With their recognized authority, they extended to Paul and Barnabas the “right hand of fellowship” (v. 9), a signal of formal approval for their ministry to the nations. An official unity came into being by this extension of the right hand of fellowship. Their only encouragement was that Paul might remember the poor, which he himself was eager to do (v. 10). For this ministry by fresh converts from the nations of the world in providing for the needy among believing Judeans was not merely the manifestation of a common concern for the poor. Instead, it provided one large concrete indicator of the unity that had been established as a consequence of Paul’s uncompromising position. Paul presents once more the same perspective in his letter to the Romans as he prepares to travel first to Jerusalem with the offering of the peoples from the various nations for the suffering saints in Jerusalem before he visits Rome (Rom. 15:25–29).

What is this? It is a most dramatic intertwining of the fortunes of Israelite believers in Palestine with recent Asian and European converts to Christ. The church leaders of Jerusalem had asked for this concrete expression of unity (Gal. 2:10a), and Paul saw to it that they got exactly what they asked (v. 10b).

If Paul had not insisted with such determination and without compromise that the true gospel of Christ must focus on all nations and all peoples rather than continuing to center on Israelite peoples, this concrete expression of unity among all believers never would have happened. These Asian/European believers were moved in their charitable giving to the point of serious personal sacrifice just because they viewed Israelite believers as their beloved brothers. In the past, the pious commitment of religiously dedicated Judeans to their temple in Jerusalem had served only to set them apart from other nationalities. But now they had become the special objects of love and devotion to Christians all around the Mediterranean basin. How amazing is the power of the Christian gospel!

A New Covenant People of God in the World

The world would never be the same. All because Paul insisted on making the Great Divide between a gospel focused on all nations of the world rather than a gospel continuing to focus more specifically on Israelite peoples. He seemed to be the only person who saw with clear eyes the international form that the new covenant people of God must take. He alone, even among the recognized leaders-among- the- leaders of God’s people, could discern the predetermined shape within the rough-hewn raw marble that encased the form and substance of the true gospel. Those from James, Peter, and even Barnabas not only failed to firmly grasp the foredetermined concept of the church, but also subsequently backpedaled and united their forces to oppose Paul and his “gospel for the nations” (Gal. 2:11–14a).

This James was almost certainly the eldest of the brothers of Jesus, since the apostle named James had already been martyred by Herod (Acts 12:2). Though not believing in his brother Jesus during his earthly ministry (Mark 3:20–21; John 7:5), James rose in prominence like a rocket after Jesus’ resurrection. He served as the presiding officer during the first general assembly of the Christian church meeting in Jerusalem, and he continued in that position all during the years of Paul’s three missionary journeys (Acts 15:13–21; 21:17–25).

It is impossible to know exactly how much of an active role James played in the thinking of those who came from him.[v] But in this context, it was enough to establish their credibility that this delegation came from James and from Jerusalem. Add to their inherent authority the fact that Peter as the recognized spokesman for the original twelve apostles supported them in their position. But for Paul, the most serious emotional blow would have come from the defection of “even Barnabas” (Gal. 2:13). This deeply spiritual father of the faith was the only one who initially dared to sponsor Paul before the church’s leaders in Jerusalem (Acts 9:26–27). Barnabas was also the very one who made the long journey to Tarsus to fetch Paul when Greeks were being converted in large numbers in Antioch (11:20–26).

Paul’s Gospel: A Focus on All Nations

So what shall it be? Is the gospel focused specifically on Israel, or is it a gospel equally for all nations, including Israel? Understanding the proper response to this question is as much a challenge today as it was in Galatia of old. Is the gospel equally for all nationalities of the world, or does the gospel recognize some special significance inherently associated with being Israelite? Indeed, in his companion epistle to the Romans, Paul says that the gospel is “for the Jew first” (Rom. 1:16). According to the ancient promise to Abraham, it is through his seed that all the nations of the world will be blessed.

But is there something distinctive in the gospel about identity with Israel, specifically in its relation to the law, and more particularly the law of circumcision because of its power to transform a Gentile into a Jew?[vi] If there is some benefit in the gospel associated with having a Jewish identity, should not circumcision be required of all Gentile converts? Should not all believers enjoy the special benefits of being Jews, since those benefits are readily at hand through circumcision? That was a major challenge that Paul faced in Galatia: the teaching that blessings in the gospel came with Jewishness, both in Israel’s law and in Israel’s promises.[vii]

“To his face” Paul “faced down” Cephas (Gal. 2:11). Can you imagine a scrawny, bowlegged, balding rabbi nose-to- nose with “the big fisherman”?[viii] All because Peter had become embarrassed about the true gospel before this delegation from James, and had assumed the posture of promoting a legalistic counterfeit of the gospel.

What was this counterfeit imitation? That the believers from the various nations had to first become Israelites by circumcision before they could claim the benefits of being in Christ. This counterfeit message pretended to be “good news” in that it promised the benefits of Christ once a person had submitted himself to the legal requirements of the old covenant through the entry gate of circumcision.

Praise the Lord that by the power of the risen Christ, Paul stood his ground against every argument brought forward by early Christian officialdom. He perceived clearly inside the yet-unshaped mass of primitive Christian realities the true, defining shape of the saving gospel. With a firm grip on his chisel, he hammered away until the gospel in all its perfections of form and substance emerged from the primitive block that stood before him. This glorious gospel sets its focus on all the nations of the world and not specifically on Israel.

So Paul has made a Great Divide between his gospel directed broadly toward all nations in contrast with a gospel focused more especially on the nation of Israel. While Paul acknowledges the divine origin of an ongoing ministry to Israelites as promoted by Peter, he insists that his own specific ministry to the various nations of the world is essential to the “whole truth” of the gospel.

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[i] Cf. O. Palmer Robertson, “The Prophets and the Peoples,” in The Christ of the Prophets, abr. ed. (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2008), 329–47.

[ii] Cf. the thorough work of J. Knox Chamblin, Gospel according to Paul: An Inductive Study (ThD diss., Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, VA, 1977).

[iii] It might be an enlightening exercise for readers of the New Testament in English translation to substitute the word “nations” for “Gentiles” as they read through the New Testament, and particularly through Paul’s writings.

[iv] Paul’s circumcision of Timothy (Acts 16:1–3) did not function as a necessary badge of legitimate entry into the Christian community. Timothy, whose mother was an Israelite, was circumcised to remove unnecessary offense among other Israelites. A critical part of Timothy’s ministry would be to join Paul in delivering the decree of the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 that circumcision of peoples from other nations would not be required (16:4).

[v] Cf. the carefulness of Machen not to overstep the evidence in J. Gresham Machen, Machen’s Notes on Galatians, ed. John H. Skilton (Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1973), 134–35.

[vi] Gen. 17:12–14; Ex. 12:48–49. Cf. Benno Jacob, The First Book of the Bible: Genesis (New York: KTAV, 1974), 115, 233: “Indeed, differences of race have never been an obstacle to joining Israel which did not know the concept of purity of blood. . . . Circumcision turned a man of foreign origin into an Israelite (Exod. 12:48).”

[vii] For further consideration of the question concerning the relation of Israel and the nations to the promises of Abraham as fulfilled in the gospel today, see O. Palmer Robertson, Christ of the Consummation. A New Testament Biblical Theology. Volume 2: The Testimony of Acts and Paul. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P&R Publishing, 2025, Excursus #3, pages 359-364: “In What Sense Are Israel and the Nations Today Heirs of the Covenantal Promises to Abraham?”

[viii] One of the earliest descriptions of Paul is found in the apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla, which reads as follows: “A man small in size, bald-headed, bandy-legged, well-built, with eyebrows meeting, rather long-nosed, full of grace. For sometimes he seemed like a man, and sometimes he had the countenance of an angel.” In Alexander Roberts James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, eds., Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 8 (New York: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886), 487.